Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Settling In

Our first few days at the new facility have been quite all right, if I do say so myself. The girls are transitioning into their new herd situation without a hitch, and are making some fast friends other than each other (thank god for that). P especially is totally enamored with everyone around her, and talks to all of them constantly. Imogen is, mostly, still just completely obsessed with P, although that too is diminishing. I am pleased (and a bit surprised) to report that both of them come right to me whenever I call them over - and they even call back! Who knew? They are more than happy to leave the herd and the snacks to come find me. Seeing as they are on 15 acres, and that it is now completely dark by the time I go to bring them in to feed some nights, this is totally a huge bonus. All I have to do is stand at the gate and call, and they come.

Happy mares.

And look, here they come! Peas in a pod, these two.

It was a rude awakening this weekend to see how seriously obsessed they are with each other. Thankfully, I was right to assume that once they got out in a herd situation with other buddies, they would have other relationships to work on, and be able to not be totally stuck on each other. Monday night was a little bit hairy on Imogen's part, seeing as it was her first time really away from P in about a month in terms of tacking and prepping for a workout. She made a right fool of herself in front of the barn owner while in the barn, wiggling and screaming and pooping all over the place, worried about P. She also gave me her regular level of grief about bridling, and the barn owner suggested roundpenning her to try and fix that. I have absolutely no idea how that would actually help, but since I was a bit embarrassed I sort of halfheartedly agreed that it maybe was a good idea, sort of, I suppose. She unfortunately was not around to see today's grooming/tacking/lunging session, during which I had a totally silent and immobile mare to work with. She even let me take off her bridle with the least amount of fuss yet... we are getting there!!! I am super happy that Immy seems to be settling down day by day into a routine where there is no P around, or anyone else in fact save for me. I'm the one she needs to be worried about now!

She wore sidereins for the first time on Monday, and aside from an acceptable level of mouthing, she was totally fantastic. They are on the very last hole, of course, but they make a very light, light contact with her mouth, especially when she is bending.

Yesterday both girls had a grooming and spa session (and they were wonderful angels who were both on their best behavior), and today Immy got back to lunging, this time with the rope saddle and sidereins:

She was a little bit amped up, but it wasn't unwarranted - chilly night, dark out, no friends. Sorry about the video quality - my phone battery is shot and it keeps dying before I ever get into the arena, so I have resorted to using my old dinosaur video iPod that I've had for a couple years now. You don't realize how far technology has come until you compare the two. Although considering that it is owned by me, the Queen Mother of Destroying All the Electronic Things, the fact that it is still alive and working is quite an amazing feat for it.

Tomorrow, M is coming to help me with ground driving for the first time! If all goes well and she is able to set us loose to work on our own, we'll practice ground driving for the next week or so.... and then we back her!

5 comments:

She's so willing to work and to try her best for you, even with things that not too long ago were truly scary for her. She must be so, so happy now. Gosh it's just stunning to think you could be atop her before the year's out!

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About Me

For as long as I can remember, my life has revolved around horses. I've been riding since the age of 7, and doing dressage and eventing since the age of 15. My first gelding was a little black Trakehner named Quincy who had had EPM at some point; he was the best friend an emotional teenager could have ever wanted. He died of a horrible colic in 2004. My second gelding was a dark bay clunker of a Trakehner named Metro; he was the best schoolmaster and friend I ever could have asked for, and he trucked my butt around my first real x-country courses, and brought me my first really fancy ribbons. Due to a whole slew of problems, we euthanized him in 2006. My third horse was the quirky and opinionated Gogo, my first youngster and my first mare. She taught me endless amounts of patience, the importance of praise and soft hands, how to graciously accept mass amounts of blue ribbons one moment and how to graciously accept a dose of humble butt-whooped pie the next. After a long and downhill rehab for compounded leg injuries, we let her go in October of 2011. What's next for me? Follow along and find out!